USING INTERNET SITE AS TEACHING MODEL IN ENHANCING ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR INDEPENDENT LEARNERS

Page | 1 USING INTERNET SITE AS TEACHING MODEL

IN ENHANCING ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR INDEPENDENT LEARNERS

1_{Yeni Andikasari,} 2_{Herri Setiawan} 1_{Akademi Kebidanan Al-}Su’aibah

2 _{Fakultas Ilmu Komputer, Universitas Indo Global Mandiri Palembang} 1_{herri_1303@gmail.com,} 2_{herri_1303@gmail.com}

ABSTRACT

English language learners in high education institutions believe that vocabulary learning is difficult and complicated. At the university level, learners are forced to make conscious effort to learn vocabulary outside of the classroom because of the learning time in the classroom is limited. Consequently, the learners play an important role in developing and enhancing their vocabulary. now, surving on the Internet has been the most popular way to learn English because it is convenient as well as entertaining. It saves a lot of time. beside that Some websites provide beautiful illustrations to learn English so the learners learn by fun. A few websites supply amusing games and online language exercises to attract attention thereby helping them learn English effectively. Having been inspired from article by Dr.Vangeepuram Sreenathachary 2011, about using Internet in improving one’s english language skills and supported by some finding of Marc Rosenberg adapted Strategies for delivering knowledge in the digital Age by Rosenberg, M. J,2001, authors of This paper aims at using internet site as a teaching model to enhancing learners English vocabulary. The instructional plan covers the objectives, materials, activities and assessment. Instructional strategies to use quesioner sheet, guided and reflective discussion,web site link.

Key words: Internet site, Independent Learners, Teaching model,Vocabulary

I. Introduction

Internet gives us a lot of convenience. It is a useful tool for learning English or anything. We can learn many a new thing. Internet also provides many materials and many types of learning methods. To become a member of a global community in our technology-driven world, students must now learn to navigate, read, write, and think critically by using informational and communication technologies (Karchmer, Mallette, Kara-Soteriou, & Leu, 2005). Gilbert & Jones (2001) said that E-learning is delivery of learning material through an electronic medium such as the Internet, intranet/extranet, satellite broadcast, audio/video tape, interactive TV, CD-ROM, and computer based training (CBT). It’s supported by LearnFrame that e-learning, also called Tb- Learning (Technology-based Learning) is a system of education using all electronic applications to support learning and teaching including computer networks (Internet, Intranet, satellites), electronic media (audio, tv, CD-ROM)

(http://www.leerbeleving.nl/wbts/1/history_of _elearning.html).

Marc Rosenberg (2001) confines e-learning to the internet as:the use of internet technologies

to deliver a broad array of solutions that enhance knowledge and performance. It is based upon three fundamental criteria:

 networked

 delivered to the end-user via a computer using standard internet technology

 focuses on the broadest view of learning

II.Internet Site

Internet site most popular as website or simply site, is a set of related web pages containing content such as text, images, video, audio, etc. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet address known as a Uniform Resource Locator. All publicly accessible websites collectively constitute the World Wide Web. A webpage is a document, typically written in plain text interspersed with formatting instructions of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML, XHTML). A webpage may incorporate elements from other websites with suitable markup anchors.

Page | 2 (HTTP Secure, HTTPS) to provide security and

privacy for the user of the webpage content. The user's application, often a web browser, renders the page content according to its HTML markup instructions onto a display terminal.

The pages of a website can usually be accessed from a simple Uniform Resource Locator (URL) called the web address. The URLs of the pages organize them into a hierarchy, although hyperlinking between them conveys the reader's perceived site structure and guides the reader's navigation of the site which generally includes a home page with most of the links to the site's web content, and a supplementary about, contact and link page.

Some websites require a subscription to access some or all of their content. Examples of subscription websites include many business sites, parts of news websites, academic journal websites, gaming websites, file-sharing websites, message boards, web-based email, social networking websites, websites providing real-time stock market data, and websites providing various other services (e.g., websites offering storing and/or sharing of images, files and so forth).

Organized by function, a website may be :  a personal website

 a commercial website  a government website

 a nonprofit organization website. It could be the work of an individual, a business or other organization, and is typically dedicated to some particular topic or purpose. Any website can contain a hyperlink to any other website, so the distinction between individual sites, as perceived by the user, may sometimes be blurred.

Websites are written in, or dynamically converted to, HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and are accessed using a software interface classified as a user agent. Web pages can be viewed or otherwise accessed from a range of computer-based and Internet-enabled devices of various sizes, including desktop computers, laptops, PDAs and cell phones.

A website is hosted on a computer system known as a web server, also called an HTTP server, and these terms can also refer to the software that runs on these systems and that retrieves and delivers the web pages in response to requests from the website users. Apache is

the most commonly used web server software (according to Netcraft statistics) and Microsoft's IIS is also commonly used. Some alternatives, such as Lighttpd, Hiawatha or Cherokee, are fully functional and lightweight. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website).

III. Vocabulary

Vocabulary is the Everest of language. For this reason, a person who wants to be able to communicate in a certain language has to master the vocabulary of that language for the first time. Vocabulary as one of the language aspects have to be learned when people are learning a language. Good mastery of vocabulary is important for anyone who learns the language used in listening, speaking, writing, and reading besides grammar. A learner of the foreign language will speak fluently and accurately, write easily, or understand what he or she reads or hears if he or she has enough vocabulary and has a capability of using it accurately.

Vocabulary varies in the four skills of language, listening, writing, reading and speaking. Generally, a student will absorb listening and speaking vocabulary before coming to the reading and writing vocabulary. But in real situation, the process may change, especially in foreign language teaching. Reading vocabulary may become the first stage before processing the speaking and listening vocabulary. According to the basis of frequency, vocabulary can be divided into two kinds, there are :

1. High frequency vocabulary consists of words that are used very often in normal language, use in all four skills and across the full range of situation of use. High frequency vocabulary consists of 2000 word families, which are about 87% of the running words in formal written text and more than 95% of the words in informal spoken texts. 2. The low frequency vocabulary on the

Page | 3 vocabularies as motivated vocabulary

and unmotivated vocabulary. Motivated (active) vocabulary consists of all the words we need to use and feel no reluctance in using in our everyday life (Norbert Schmitt Vocabulary in language teaching,2000).

Due to the fact above a teacher have responsibility to help their learners to have a lot of vocabulary to support their skill in reading, speaking, listening and writing.

IV. Teaching English Vocabulary

Purposes For Teaching Vocabulary One reason teachers are concerned about teaching vocabulary is to facilitate the comprehension of a text that students will be assigned to read. If students do not know the meaning of many of the words that they will encounter in a text, their comprehension of that selection is likely to be compromised. When the purpose of vocabulary instruction is to facilitate the comprehension of a selection, it is obvious that this instruction must take place as an introduction before the reading of the selection. Vocabulary is the foundation of a language. You cannot advance speaking English or another language until the fundamentals of vocabulary are mastered. There are many methods for committing vocabulary to memory. Some strategies are more fun. However, going through the different phases of learning and teaching vocabulary can ensure mastery of both the words as well as the language. Another dictionary, defined vocabulary as a list of words ands, often, phrases, abbreviations, inflectional form, etc, usually arranged in alphabetical order and defined or otherwise identified, as in a dictionary or glossary. Because of the importance of vocabulary, it needs a serious attention in learning vocabulary from both learners and teachers. It becomes a great challenging act for the teacher to teach vocabulary, what kind of methods they use, what kind of vocabulary that they give, or how many vocabularies that they should teach. There are some key principles of teaching vocabulary:

1. Build a large sight of vocabulary. 2. Integrated new words with previous

words.

3. Provide a number of encounters with a word.

4. Promotes deep level of processing. 5. Facilitate imaging.

6. Make new word .real. by connecting them to the student.s word in some way.

7. Use variety techniques.

8. Encourage independent learning strategies.

As it has already mentioned at the beginning that there is no right or best way to teach English skill, it all depends on the type of students, the school system and curriculum, the word that are targeted and many other factors. The choice of vocabulary to teach is also limited to the learner need, experiences and interest. (Norbert Schmitt,teaching vocabulary p 3,2008). one of some interest way to teach english vocabulary is by using internet site as a teaching model. How to used it will be discussed further

V. Internet site for independent learners Many people build their English vocabulary through a blend of methods — by taking English classes, reading books, watching movies in English, and studying English with English language software. Playing word and vocabulary games is a valuable part of learning English. Users choose some example of links to websites which can help build learners vocabulary. They are :

1. http://www.vocabulary.co.il

Page | 4 Picture 1. www.vocabulary.co.il site

1. http://www.vocabulary.com

Offers many quizzes that are considered to be vocabulary muscle builders. Take one or several to test and

improve your vocabuluary. It also provides you with one year’s worth of words –one word for each day of the year for you to learn

.

Picture 2. www.vocabulary.com site

2. http://www.nonstopenglish.com

Page | 5 3. http://www.englishpractice.com/topics/vocabulary/page/2/

Picture 4. www. englishpractice.com site

4. http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/vocabulary/index.html

Picture 5. www. learnenglishfeelgood.com site

VI. Teaching model using internet site for independent learners

Theme : Character of adjective vocabulary

Objective : To Developing and broadening knowledge of character adjective vocabulary

Materials :Vocabulary web site resaources about descriptive adjective (http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blvoc ab_character.htm)

Activities :

 Divide students up into small groups and ask them to complete the adjective worksheet based on the quesioner below

 Ask students to browsing descriptive adjectives in the web site links http://esl.about.com/library/vocabular y/blvocab_character.htm

 Have students report back to the class on what they have found about their character adjective vocabulary

 Ask students to presented their task in front of class

Assessment :

 Evaluate students worksheet by discussion session

 How many adjective vocabulary finding

 Evaluate students understanding in using adjective vocabulary

Page | 6  Is your friend usually in a good mood?

 Is it important for your friend to be successful in whatever he/she does?  Does your friend notice your feelings?  Does you friend often give presents, or

pay for lunch or a coffee?  Does your friend work hard?

 Does your friend become angry or annoyed if he/she has to wait for something or someone?

 Can you trust your friend with a secret?  Does your friend listen well when you

are speaking?

 Does your friend keep his/her feelings to him/herself?

 Is your friend usually not worried by things, no matter what happens?  Does your friend think the future will

be good?

 Does your friend often change their opinion about things?

 Does your friend often postpone things he/she has to do?

 Is your friend happy one moment and then sad the next?

 Does your friend like to be with people?

Kinds of Character adjective vocabulary generous  easygoing  ambitious  cheerful  hardworking  trustworthy

 easy going

 impatient

 sensitive

 optimistic

 moody

 sociable

 indecisive

 reserved

 lazy

 attentive

VII. Conclusion

Based on the result of the quesioner and learners activities above, 80% from 40 student of Akbid Al-su’aibah grade II 2012 years were have good result and have positive response. Authors conclude that the teaching model using internet site to enhancing learners english vocabulary are the creative way for teacher in process teaching and learning english language. It has advantage to help independent learner to master english vocabulary, through internet site they can learn fun,convenient as well as entertaining, and to stimulate their brain to know more english vocabulary through amusing games and online language. The authors suggested to other English teachers to use,develop and utilize the technology of internet as a model in learning process so our students have new experience and could learn English more effectively.

References

Istambul, M.R., 2012. Optimizing the

Implementation of e-Learning Strategies in Higher Education. International Journal of Education, Business, e-Management and e-Learning, 2(2). Meyer, L.L. & Schmitt, N., 2002. Vocabulary

in Language Teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 36(2), p.235. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3588334?orig in=crossref.

Sanderson, P.E., 2002. E-Learning: strategies for delivering knowledge in the digital age. The Internet and Higher Education, 5(2), pp.185–188. Available at:

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pi i/S1096751602000829.

Sreenathachary, V., 2011. Using Internet in Improving One’s English Language Skills: 50 Informative, Educative & Entertaining Websites. The Criterion: An International Journal in English, II(June), pp.1–9. Available at:

Page | 7 http://www.englishpractice.com/vocabulary/ti

ps-improving-vocabulary/#ixzz2AT4rTKGK http://www.englishpractice.com/vocabulary/pr

oven-techniques-improve-english-vocabulary/#ixzz2ASguIOm4